I’m going to tell you a little secret. Shhhh, come close ….the school curriculum is available, grade by grade, on the district’s website. (Here they are for District 102 and District 96.) And now I’m going to tell you why you care. By reading it, you will not only have a full and detailed preview of what your child is expected to learn over the course of the school year, but, it will give you valuable knowledge on how to prepare your child for the school year as well.

No, it won’t say “your child will be learning about the Revolutionary War so take a trip to Gettysburg,” but it will say that in fifth grade your child will need to explain the causes and effects of the Revolutionary War. So now that you know that, you can help your child build priceless background knowledge.

Forget Gettysburg, they don’t concentrate on the battles in fifth grade. Heading east? Do the Freedom Walk in Boston. Staying close to home? Watch the Liberty Kids cartoon series or the HBO mini-series John Adams (great for the aftermath of the war).

A good idea, that. People who drive all the way to Gettysburg to learn about the Revolutionary War are indeed in for a disappointment.